Metal keg



Nov. 8, 1927. 1,648,859

G. E. MITTINGER METAL KEG Filed Oct. 22, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. E. MlTTlNGER Nov. 8, 1927.

METAL KEG Filed Oct. 22, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 alitoz mu: 5

G. E. MITTINGER Nov. 8, 192 7.

METAL KEG Filed Oct.

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 8, 1927.

G. E. MITTINGER METAL KEG Filei 0st. 22. 1925 .5 Sheets-Sheet 4 G. E. MITTINGER Nov. 8, 1927.

METAL KEG Filed 00%;. 22, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Nov. 8, 1927.

; UNITED STATES GEORGE EUGENE MIT'II-NGER, OF CLEVELAND, @I-II-O.

METAL KEG. 7

Application filed October 2 2, 1923. Serial No. 670,035.

This invention relates to improvements in metal kegs, and more particularly to what I have termed a knock-down or sectional container, which is primarily adapted for transporting bolts, rivets, nails or the like, although the container could be easily and readily used as a transporting means for most any commodity.

At the present time, the ordinary wooden keg is the container which is most used in shipping commodities ofdifi'erent characters, but a wooden keg has many disadvantages whichare well known to those coming in constant contact with their use. The Wooden keg is expensive and ditlicult to assemble and when it has reached its destination, many of its contents have been lost due to the fact that the side of the keg has been broken or the head of the keg has not remained intact.

My improved container has overcome the above disadvantages of the wooden container. The parts for my container are fabricated very rapidly by machine, the container parts are assembled very rapidly due to their particular and peculiar construction, and the container is very strong and, in every instance, reaches its destination in good condition with its contents intact. My container is of such strength that when loaded with two hundred pounds of commodity, it can be dropped, at least, ten feet without burst ing either its sides or heads. The advantage of a container of this strength will be readily apparent.

I am very familiar with the fabrication of metallic containers and have invented and fabricated containers of many different constructions. Some of the containers have been patented by me, while others are at the present time in the process of being patented and are now pending in the Patent Otlice.

For a sectional metal container to be a commercial success, it must be so constructed that its several parts can be rapidly and cheaply fabricated by machine. The several parts of the container must be so constructed that the complete container can be rapidly and easily assembled. The assembled containr must be of a construction that is very strong both as to its side-walls and side-wall joints and as to the fastening in of the container heads. Another important attribute of the container is that it must be so construced that during the handling of the container, from the time it is assembled to the time it reaches its destination, there must be no sharp edges on which personscan cut or mutilate their hands; I have found that the commercial success of containers has been lost for the simple reasonthat in handling the containers persons have'cut and mutilated their hands badly and, in some instances, blood poison has set in. It isimpossibleto market a container with such a serious weakness or drawback as that ust mentioned.

The container which will be hereinafter described and claimed and which is shown in'the accompanying drawings, overcomes all the above objections and incorporates in one container many advantages and novel features of construction. 1

At this point it might be well to mention that where a container is entirely assembled with the exception of one of the heads, that in many instances it will be sprung out of shape as the container is filled with heavy material and that dueto this springing of the container, it will be impossible to put the head on the same to close it after it has been filled.

As the containers are shipped to the consumer, in a knockdown or unassembled state, it is essential that the parts can be placed in nestled relation to reduce the space that they will consume in a freight car, or the like, so i that tonnage can be shipped in the car. If tonnage cannot be gotten into the car, the freight rate would be a very large item of expense in placing the container in the hands of the consumer. In fact, thefreight rate would be'so high that the metallic container could hardly be marketed in competition with wooden containers. I

The primary object of my invention is to provide a metallic barrel or keg having a plurality of sections adapted to be assembled in the form of a complete container.

Another object of my invention is to provide a barrel or keg made in a plurality of sections and adapted to be unassembled so that the sections can be readily nested or stacked, whereby a vast amount of space is saved in transportation of the empty containers and tonnage canv be packed in a freight car, or ahe like.

A further object of my invention is to provide a collapsible container having a novel means for holding it in its assembled. form.

Another and. further object of my invention is to provide a sectional container so constructed as to overcome the springing or wrenching out of its normal shape during the process of filling or loading it.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a container of the character described, in which the heads are readily secured upon the container and. more securely locks the container side sections together and prevents them from being collapsed.

Another and further object of my invention'is to provide a sectional container so constructed and designed that there are no sharp cutting eu es which will be likely to injure the hands of the persons assembling the container or handling the container at any time during its loading or shipment.

A further object of my invention is to pro vide a sectional container which can be readily assembled or unassembled and which in its assembled form is very strong.

Another object of my invention is to provide a sectional metallic keg which is cheap and simple of manufacture, highly elficient in use and having certain novel details of construction which will be hereinafter more fully pointed out and described.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved container in its unassembled form ready for shipment, a portion of the head and upper end of the container being broken away and shown in vertical section.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of one of the container side-wall sections.

3 is a horizontal sectional view taken through'th assembled container.

Fig. l is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional View, showing the interlocking connection of the container sections, before the container head is locked in place.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the interlocking edges of the sections with the container head locked in place.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the interlocking edges of the container sections with the container head in place. I

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the upper ends of the container taken at a pointbeyond the interlocking edges of the sections, the container head being shown locked in place. v

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of a portion of one of the container sections showing the-manner in which the horizontal corrugations of the container sections and at the interlocking edge of the sect-ion.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary.horizontal view showing a modified form of locking the container head in place.

Fig; 10, is a side view partially broken away in vertical section, showing the mannor in which the container heads stack for shipment. I v p 11 is an endview showing the manwardly and inwardly nor in which the container sections are stacked for shipment. v I

Referring now to the drawings, I have designated the container sections which coinpose the side walls of my container, as A,

and the container end or heads as B Each tainer body as composed of two sections, but

it will be readily understood that the. same can be constructed in as many, sections as may be desired without departing from the spirit of this invention. 1 have found, however, that a barrel constructed with two seC- tions is preferable, as it will prove in use much stronger and will be cheaper to fabricate and assemble.

Each of the sen'ii circular barrel sections A is provided at its opposite longitudinal edges with an inwardly rolled or 'crim'ped portion 15 and an outwardly rolled or" crimped portion 16, which extend the length or depth of the barrel and terminate as at 17, at a point slightlybelow the ends 18'of the sections. V

As clearly appears in the drawings, these rolledor crimpe'd portions 15 and ,16 are composed of double thickness of the material from which the barrel sections are con structed, the barrel material being bent back upon itself, as at 19 to provide for this reinforcement. V

It will be seen that the inwardly rolled or crimped edges of the container sections are so formed as tobe approximately. U- shaped in horizontal section, as more clearly appears in Fig. iof the drawings, and that the inwardly rolled edge of one container section interlocks with the outwardly rolled edge of the other container section. These interlocking edges are constructed in such a manner that the edges. of the barrel sections will easily slidelongitudinally or in a The telescoping manner, one into the other. oint between the interlocking edges of the sections is notso tight as to make it difficult to slide the sections longitudinally or in a telescoping manner, as described;

The ends 18 of the container, before referred to, are slightly above the ends 17 of the inwardly rolled edges of the sectionand are composed of a double thickness of, the material of which the container structed, as clearly appears at 20, the double thickness of the material being obtained by bending the section ends inwardly and down-- wardly 'upon the sections .as appears at m is then bent inwardly at right angles, as at con-,

"The thickness of the container section ends" 22, to form an inwardly extending shoulder or flange. This construction materially strengthens the ends of the sections and adds rigidity to them.

To add further strength and rigidity to the container sections, I have provided them with a series of horizontal corrugations which taper inwardly at their ends, as at 2%, to disappear into the container sections adjacent the rolled or crimped edges thereof. Attention is directed to the fact that the inwardly bent portion 19 of the crimped or rolled edges of the sections extend backwardly -to the point 25, so as to meet the tapered ends 24 of the corrugations 23, to

assure strength to the sections at this point. Referring now to the container heads, it will be seen that the heads B are circular in form having a bottom 26 with a surrounding wall 27, which is tapered slightly out-.

ward and is provided with an outwardly extending top or flange 28, which terminates 1n a downwardly extending end 29, which is approximately in horizontal separated relation to the wall 27 of the head. The downwardly extending portion or outer wall of the head terminates in an. outwardly extending flange 30, which is composed of a double thickness of material, as clearly appears. It will also be readily. apparent that there is a space 31 between the inner and outer walls 27 and 29 of the head.

With the container sections in an assembled position, the head B is placed upon the upper end 18 of the sections, the inwardly turned flange or shoulder 22 and also a portion of the inner locking edges of the sections extending into the space 31, between the inner and outer Walls of the head. The shoulder or flange 22 of the sections abut the portion 28 of the headand support the same upon the sections. In placing the head B upon the ends of the sections, it will be seen that the interlocking edges of the sections have been compressed as clearly appears in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The compressing of the interlocking edges at this point more securely locks the sections together.

To securely lock the heads in place upon the container sections, the inner wall 27 of the head is crimped outwardly and upwardly under the flange or shoulder 22 of the sections, as designated at 32.

It will be readily understood that one head is first crimped or locked in position and that the container is then loaded and the other head locked in position.

The outward crimp of the inner wall 27 of the head B completely encircles the head with the exception of the points adjacent the interlocking edges of the sections. It will, of course, be impossible to expand the head outwardly at this. point.

Attention is directed to the fact that when theheads are in place upon the sections, the contalner has great strength ad acent its ends as there are three thicknesses of materlal,

. viz, the outer wall 29 of the heads; the wall of the sections; and the inwardly and downwardly bent portion 21 of the section ends.

Great strength is given to the container at the point where the sections interlock inasmuch as at these longitudinal connections there are eight thicknesses of material, while at the points where the interlocking edges are within the head, there are ten thicknesses of material, as clearly appears in Figs. 3, i, 5 and 6 of the drawings.

As previously mentioned, it is essential that the several parts of the container shall stack to enable tonnage to be loaded in a freight car, or the. like. In Figs. 10 and 11 the nesting of the heads B and the sections A is clearly shown. No particular or specilic description of these iigures is thought to be necessary, for it is obvious from the drawings that the several parts stack nicely.

It is essential that the heads of the. container be securely locked in place so as to remain in place despite heavy handling when loaded. In the preferred form of my invention, the head is crimped outwardly throughout its periphery with the exception of the points in'in'iediately adjacent the interlocking edges of the sections.

In Fig- 9 I have shown a modified form of locking the heads in place, which may be utilized, if desired. In the modified form, the inner: wall 27 is crimped or bent upwardly underxt-he flange 22 of the section ends at a plurality of separated points, as at 33. In crimping the head at a plurality of separated points, the head could be more easily removed from the container than would be the case were it bent outwardly throughout its periphery.

Attention is directed to the fact that when the container is in its assembled form, as shown in Fig. 1, of the drawings, it can be rolled upon its side and when it is so moved, the outstanding beads or flanges of the heads will act as hoop-s as they stand slightly beyond the horizontal corrugations 23 of the container sections, as clearly appears in Figs. 3 and 5 of the drawings.

A careful examination of the drawings will also disclose that there are no sharp cutting edges to any parts of the container. The ends of the sections are provided with inwardly extending shoulders 22, which are composed of a double thickness of metal and, therefore, present no cutting edges. This is important for the reason that when the sections are assembled pressure must be exert-ed upon their upper ends to slide them into longitudinal interlocking engagement. The side edges of the containers present no cutting edges for the reason at these points the sections are likewise composed of a double thickness of metal. container have a. double thicknessof meta-i where the material ends in the outwardly extending flangeBO, so that there are no sharp cutting edges to any part o't-the heads.

I have previously mentioned that the heads are locked, in place by crimping theirinner walls outwardly. This crimping or extending may be accomplished in any desired manner and can. readily be brought about by the crimping tool, which is disclosed in my application Serialldo. 651,077, tiled in the Patent Oiiice July 12, 1923. A slight modiiication of the tool shown in this application would produce the crimps shown in the modilied form of locking the heads in, as appears in Fig. 9 off the drawing of the present application.

With the container heads constructed in the manner described, there is provided for the trade a large amount of space in which to stencil their name, the contents of the container; the address to which the contents is going or any other data which may be desirable. Tl data is usually put on the heads bymeans of stenciling with paint or the like, or sometimes it is done by embossing the words into the metal. I have found that when container is: loaded there is somewhat 01 a tendency for thehead bottom to bulge outwardly and in this manner the stenciling is sometimes rubbed oiit or eiiaced. To prev nt the etlacing of the wording on the head, I have provided what I have termed a center button or fifth leg 34. This The heads of thebutton is an outward bulge in the center ofthe head and if the container head-bulgesoutwardly, this button will engage the floor or ground and prevent the efl'acing of the reading matter on the remainder of the head. It will be also understood from the drawing that this outwardly projecting button 3% formed in the head B prevents the head being depressed by its contents, and hence prevents the outwardly bent portion of the head being loosened in respect to the in wardly bent flanges on the ends of the two parts A. 7 r

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat- 7 A metal keg and the like having a-body portlon With its end turned inwardly forming a. short horizontal inwardly extending flange in combination with a cover having a GEORGE EUGENE hLEITTINGER.

having a horizontal por-. 

